Posts tagged Palestine
Opinion: The Faster Labor Contracts Act could enable antisemitism
July 8, 2026 // The FLCA’s cure is worse than the disease, and in today’s union environment, the disease is increasingly political. According to a recent study by the Gevura Fund, “Combined [National Education Association] spending on political activities, lobbying and contributions to outside organizations totals approximately $175 million in FY2025, nearly four times the $45 million spent on direct member representation.” The National Education Association is a public-sector teachers’ union, but its conduct represents a broader pattern, considering how politicized unions have become. The FLCA would essentially fast-track union contracts built on ideological activism rather than workers’ rights.
Dream Team of Three Congressional Primary Winners Joins UAW Union Rally for Columbia University Researchers
July 5, 2026 // Three recently elected Democratic nominees for Congress — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander — spoke at a Tuesday rally for CPW-UAW Local 4100, the union that represents 1,600 postdoctoral workers at Columbia University. The lunchtime rally was held in a pedestrian plaza outside the university’s massive medical center in Washington Heights. Drawing over 200 participants, it took place on the day CPW-UAW’s current contract was set to expire and right before a bargaining session between the union and Columbia. As of Wednesday afternoon, the university and the union have yet to settle on a new contract.
Google DeepMind workers are unionizing over AI military contracts
May 6, 2026 // Staffers at Google DeepMind’s headquarters have voted to unionize in an effort to prevent the AI firm’s technology from being used by Israel and the US military. In a letter to Google management on Tuesday, employees requested that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union be recognized as joint representatives, with 98 percent of CWU members at DeepMind voting in support of the move.
One of Oregon’s Most Powerful Unions Is Rebelling Against Democrats
April 23, 2026 // Although many donors contribute to individual candidates, OEA sends most of its legislative contributions to caucus leaders, who distribute the cash to candidates in tight races. That ensures maximum influence with leaders, who in turn decide which bills get hearings and who gets committee chairmanships. (A 2012 study by the Fordham Institute ranked OEA the second-most powerful teachers union in the country—only the Illinois teachers union ranked higher.) In addition to large and steady contributions, OEA also developed a reputation for punishing Democrats who failed to fall in line, as Sollman is now learning. One infamous example still echoes nearly two decades later.
Workers at NY’s Israeli-owned Breads Bakery unionize, call to end ‘support of Palestine genocide’
January 11, 2026 // The employees at Breads, a spinoff of a Tel Aviv bakery with six outposts in New York City, say “over 30%” of the company’s 275 workers signed cards in support of the union, which will be represented by United Auto Workers. They are alleging poor working conditions, low and unfair pay, and a lack of “respect” from management.
Top teachers union invites pro-violence activists to shape public school curricula
October 23, 2025 // Many of the Rethinking Schools and Zinn Education Project materials promoted by the NEA explicitly target younger children. The NEA, for instance, on its official Instagram page, highlighted the work of Zinn Education Project fellow and third-grade teacher Sundjata Sekou, who hosts “racial literacy circles” where his fellow elementary educators discuss “cultivating genius in black and brown children.” Additionally, the Zinn Education Project has published reams of educational material aimed at teaching elementary school students about climate change, racism in America’s founding, and feminism, among other topics.
Is “Salting” the Future of Organized Labor?
August 3, 2025 // MA: Another point to just make is that as a salt, you have to earn your keep. Yes, you’re in closer proximity to people, and you can talk to them and build relationships. But part of that is also like doing the work, being taken seriously as a fellow worker, who knows what the hell you’re talking about. JB: Exactly. You have to be a good coworker. I worked at Starbucks for eight months before ever saying the word union. And my role wasn’t to be the vanguard of the revolution. It was to find people, like Michelle Eisen, whose family were coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, who had a deep sense of social justice and a deep commitment to unions, and who quickly saw that her legacy at Starbucks could be helping build a union for everybody who would come after her.
Protests Go Beyond Immigration to Include Array of Left-Wing Causes
June 15, 2025 // “In this moment we must all stand together,” said Becky Pringle, the head of the National Education Association, the largest individual union in the country and one of the groups that sprang into action as the protests emerged in Los Angeles. Local chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Communist Party offshoot of the Workers World Party, have also played a leading role, working with local leftist groups to post information about new demonstrations from California to Maine.
Canvassers respond to anti-Semitic demonstrations at UCLA
October 18, 2024 // While we are always looking to be respectful and informative, our canvassers have also been met with extremely vulgar attacks from none other than AFSMCE 3299 shop stewards. Just yesterday the pair was castigated for simply handing out literature and trying to engage with workers in front of the medical center. Profanities and threats of attacks were met with a polite, yet bold, resistance.
A year after Oct. 7 attack, Jewish teachers say LA union promotes antisemitism
October 8, 2024 // “UTLA has also supported professional development that teaches anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content,” the lawsuit alleges. “The UTLA-supported Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum is patently anti-Semitic, and has been adopted by LAUSD in various ways and at various schools at the behest of UTLA.” The lawsuit says those curriculum materials “denounce the idea of a Jewish homeland.” Other lawsuits have been filed challenging ethnic studies courses alleging they are antisemitic. While the lawsuit lists specific positions and actions of the teachers union, it is directed toward California’s provisions that require a sole union to represent all employees in a workplace.